Login and Registration Issues

Why can’t I login?

The forum uses your MakeMusic account credentials. If you are having trouble logging in to your MakeMusic account, first try to locate the e-mail first sent to you when you registered with MakeMusic and ensure your username and password are correct. If you have forgotten or misplaced either your username or password, click the forgot my password link on the log in page.

Navigate to your User Control Panel. In the “Board preferences” tab, enable Hide your online status. This will make your username appear solely to the administrators, moderators and yourself. You will be counted as a hidden user.

If you have forgotten your password, you can retrieve it by navigating to the login page and clicking I’ve forgotten my password. Follow the instructions and you should be able to log in again shortly.

First, check your username and password. If they are correct, then one of two things may have happened. If COPPA support is enabled and you specified being under 13 years old during registration, you will have to follow the instructions you received. Some boards will also require new registrations to be activated, either by yourself or by an administrator before you can logon; this information was present during registration. If you were sent an e-mail, follow the instructions. If you did not receive an e-mail, you may have provided an incorrect e-mail address or the e-mail may have been picked up by a spam filer. If you are sure the e-mail address you provided is correct, try contacting an administrator.

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998 is a United States federal law enabled to protect the privacy of children under the age of 13. Under the COPPA Act, the user must be over 13 years of age to register an account on the MakeMusic forums. If you are under the age of 13, you will need to have your parent or legal guardian fill out a printed registration form specific for COPPA registrants and send it to the contact listed on the form. More information about COPPA can be found at: http://www.ftc.gov/ogc/coppa1.htm

It is possible the website owner has banned your IP address or disallowed the username you are attempting to register. The website owner could have also disabled registration to prevent new visitors from signing up. Contact the board administrator for assistance.

If you notice that the time displayed on your posts or the main page of the forums is incorrect, then it’s possible the timezone is set incorrectly. If this is the case, visit your User Control Panel and change your timezone to match your particular area. Please note that changing the timezone, can only be done by registered users. If you are sure you have set the timezone and Summer Time/DST correctly and the time is still incorrect, then the time stored on the server clock may be incorrect. Please notify the board administrator to report the problem.

If you are sure you have set the timezone and Summer Time/DST correctly and the time is still incorrect, then the time stored on the server clock is incorrect. Please notify an administrator to correct the problem.

You can edit a post by clicking the edit button for the relevant post. If someone has already replied to a post you’re editing, you will find a small description below the post indicating the number of times you edited it along with the date and time. You can delete a post by clicking the delete button. Please note that unless you are a board administrator, you may only edit or delete your own posts.

You have the option to create a signature that appears below every post you make. To create a signature, navigate to User Control Panel > Profile > Edit signature. Once created, you can add the signature to a post by checking the Attach a signature box on the posting form. You may also configure the signature to appear on all posts in your User Control Panel.

When posting a new topic or editing the first post of a topic, click the “Poll creation” tab below the main posting form and fill out the appropriate fields.. You can also define certain parameters such as the number of options users may select while voting, a time limit , and the option to allow users to amend their votes. Please note the limit for poll options is set by the board administrator.

To edit a poll, click to edit the first post in the topic. If no one has cast a vote, you may delete or edit the poll. If members have already placed votes, only moderators or administrators can delete or edit the poll. Please note only polls can be edited by the original poster, a moderator, or an administrator.

If you have a new topic or response you’d like to edit later, click Save Draft to save it in your User Control Panel. To view your saved drafts, navigate to the User Control Panel and choose ‘Manage drafts.’

Formatting and Topic Types

What is BBCode?

BBCode is a special implementation of HTML that offers greater control over what and how something is displayed. It is similar in style to HTML, however tags are enclosed in square brackets [ and ] rather than < and >. Please note the administrator determines whether you can use BBCode in your posts. In addition, you can disable BBCode on a per post basis in the posting form. You can find more information on BBCode in the guide accessed from the posting form.

Global announcements contain important information and you should read them whenever possible. They will appear at the top of every forum and within your User Control Panel. Global announcement permissions are granted by the board administrator.

Announcements contain important forum-specific information and you should read them as soon as possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted. Global announcements will appear at the top of every forum and within your User Control Panel.

Sticky topics are often important and you should read them whenever possible. They will only appear on the first page of a forum below the announcements. Sticky topic permissions are granted by the board administrator.

User Levels and Groups

What are Administrators?

Administrators are members assigned with the highest level of control over the entire board. These members set permissions, ban users, create usergroups or moderators, and perform other functions to ensure the security of the board. They may also have full moderator capabilities in all forums.

Moderators are members who look after the forums from day to day. They are allowed to edit or delete posts, as well as lock, unlock, move, delete and split topics in the forum they moderate. Generally, moderators are present to prevent users from going off-topic or posting abusive or offensive material.

You can view all usergroups by navigating to your User Control Panel and clicking the “Usergroups” tab. If a group is open, you can join it by clicking the appropriate button. If a group requires approval to join, you may send a request to the usergroup leader by clicking the appropriate button. Please do not harass a group leader if they reject your request.

If you are a member of more than one usergroup, the default usergroup is used to determine which group color and rank should be shown to you by default. You may set the default usergroup within the User Control Panel if the board administrator has given you permission.

Private Messaging

What can I do if I cannot send a private message?

First, make sure you have registered and are logged into your account. Otherwise, the board administrator has disabled private messaging for the entire board or has prevented you from sending messages. Contact the board administrator for more information.

You can block a user by navigating to your User Control Panel, selecting the Private Messaging tab and setting appropriate message rules. If you continue to receive abusive messages from a particular user, please send an e-mail with a full copy of the message to the board administrator. In addition, please make sure the report includes the details of the user that sent the messages.

I have received a spamming or abusive e-mail from someone on this board!

We are sorry to hear that. The e-mail form feature of this board includes safeguards to try and track users who send such posts, so e-mail the board administrator with a full copy of the e-mail you received. It is very important that this includes the headers that contain the details of the user that sent the e-mail. The board administrator can then take action.

To search for your posts, navigate to the User Control Panel or your profile page and choose “Search user’s posts.” To search for your topics, use the “Advanced search” page and fill in the appropriate options.